A Strong Nuclear Safety Culture

To protect our nation and our environment, FANR is committed to the highest international standards of nuclear and radiation safety

While the safe, secure and peaceful conduct of nuclear and radiation related activities requires extensive technical expertise, instilling a strong safety culture among nuclear facility operators, regulatory entities and other competent authorities is also equally important.

In the UAE Nuclear Policy, the UAE pledged to work directly with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and to conform to its high standards in establishing a peaceful nuclear energy programme. Those standards call upon nuclear organisations to promote and maintain what the IAEA calls a rigorous safety culture.

The IAEA’s General Safety Requirements, Part 2: Leadership and Management for Safety states that, ‘Individuals in the organisation, from senior managers downwards, shall foster a strong safety culture. The management system and leadership for safety shall be such as to foster and sustain a strong safety culture’.

We have defined safety culture in FANR Regulation 01 on Management Systems for Nuclear Facilities as ‘the assembly of characteristics and attitudes in organisations and individuals, which establishes that, as an overriding priority, protection and safety issues receive the attention warranted by their significance’.

We are also committed to adopting several measures in compliance with IAEA standards. FANR operates in line with its Integrated Management System (IMS), which was established according to IAEA standards. The IMS integrates all requirements for safety, security and safeguards, it sets out our Mission, Vision and Values, and incorporates structured policies, processes and procedures that have helped us function effectively and build a strong culture of nuclear safety at FANR.

The IMS Committee, which is chaired on a rotational basis by one of the two deputy directors general, is composed of all FANR directors and the Chief Scientist. It meets regularly to openly discuss the implementation of all FANR processes. While the IMS process for self-evaluation and performance improvement empowers each of our employee to report problems and identify opportunities for improvement.

FANR’s Integrated Management System (IMS) Processes

Our senior management actively seeks to foster a working environment that encourages staff development, innovation and communication. An example of this can be seen with the creation of the FANR Culture Working Group, which was established in 2015 in order to give staff members the opportunity to discuss methods on how to improve the way we work.

FANR’s endeavours to instill a strong nuclear safety culture can be further demonstrated by its proactive engagement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and other international experts to ensure that FANR can benefit from the most advanced nuclear practices in the world. The UAE and FANR have invited the IAEA to carry out several important peer reviews in which international experts assess the UAE’s adherence to IAEA standards.

These reviews have included

• Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review (2011)
• Integrated Regulatory Review Service (2011 and 2015 follow-up)
• IAEA State System of Accounting for and Control of Nuclear Material Advisory Service (2014)
• Emergency Preparedness Review (2015)
• Occupational Radiation Protection Appraisal (2015)

We have also established strong bilateral ties with institutions and regulatory entities in advanced nuclear nations such as Argentina, Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Japan, Norway, the Republic of Korea, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

At FANR we understand that a strong nuclear safety culture is essential to our nation, its people and the environment. And at FANR we are dedicated to promoting such culture in both our own activities and to those entities conducting nuclear and radiation related activities throughout the UAE.